Did we get here by accident? Did any of us? I think others observed, trained and then coached us to where we are. They saw in us something powerful, something of value, maybe a part of themselves. During our early formative years our coaches were in the schools or the community, and as we grew older more employable they were our supervisors, bosses, and our peers. They've continuously observed, trained and coached us to greater heights. Obviously, this is a two-way street. We must be willing to be trained and coached. A few thoughts: Observe: Growing up in Mount Vernon, I had several who observed. They were Dr. Ken Fox, Maria Perez, Diana Best, Danny Reyes and many others along the way. Did they look the other way because they saw a troublemaker, a son of poor migrant farm workers or less than average student? No. They nominated me to attend migrant youth conferences, law & constitution forums, pre-law conferences, and national & regional MEChA conferences. They listened … [Read more...]

Some weeks ago I was in Chicago for the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute (USHLI). Did some participants or presenters have accents? Of course. Truth be known, some of us who are bilingual or trilingual may speak with an accent. Some very thick. Some very obvious. Others not so much. Does it matter? Accents have never got in the way of some of our most prominent government, business, community and non-profit leaders. Just look around Portland, Oregon or our state capital in Salem, or Chicago. Observe those leaders that are driving their businesses and organizations forward with innovative and forward-thinking approaches, be it in sales, procurements, grants, new products and services, or new stores. Countless times, we've heard: while I may speak with an accent, I don't think with an accent. It's a kind reminder that all of us who are bilingual, or trilingual should not focus on this as a negative. Let's just get it done, shall we? David Molina is the Founder and CEO … [Read more...]

There are three types of individuals. When I first attended U.S. Army Boot Camp at Fort Sill, Oklahoma as a Private in 2000, the drill sergeants drilled it in us that there are three types of individuals: 1. those that make things happen, 2. those that watch things happen, and 3. those that wondered what just happened. I'll leave out the expletives, but you get the just. Seth Godin argues that there is the frightened, clueless or uniformed. I don't buy that everyone is not cut out for leadership. Nor do I buy the argument that everyone can't make things happen. The thing is I think it has more to do with observation, training and coaching than anything else. Try it sometime. Observe others and listen to what their challenges are. Listen intently to the roots of the problem. Jump into the conversation, make it kinetic, and act as if no one is watching or who gets the credit (this can be challenging). Bounce ideas, and if possible train and prepare them on their challenges. Don't just … [Read more...]

By the time I post this, we'll have safely landed back in Portland, Oregon from Chicago via Las Vegas. The Oregon USHLI delegation will have completed their visit to the Windy City and most importantly having attended the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute (USHLI), Annual National Convention. The 4-day conference has been an incredible, enlightning, inspiring and most rewarding time for our delegation. Click here to view the USHLI 2010 photo album I posted over on Flickr. As an old professor, J. Angelica Hernandez once told me, "spread your wings, but make sure you bring others with you." Adelante: The Time Is Now. The overall conference theme embodied the true sense of urgency of our involvement in today's political process. The time is now to run for office as New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson put it. As Ambassador Carmen Lomellin told the participants of the need for more Latinas and Latinos as Foreign Affairs Officers in the U.S. State Department. As Oregon Benton … [Read more...]

“Hey David, need your help in identifying at least 10 Latino student-leaders to send to USHLI in Chicago next month...” What started as a small conversation between Benton County District Attorney John Haroldson (disclaimer: he and I serve on the OSU Board of Visitors) and I is now reality. We’re enroute to the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute (USHLI), Annual National Convention in Chicago. USHLI prides itself in developing, training, and educating America’s future Latino student-leaders in leadership, policy and career opportunities through its workshop seminars, keynote speakers, career and college fair. Over 2,000+ Latino student, community, governmental and business leaders from across the country are expected to converge at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers for a 4-day event this week. The Oregonian students selected were nominated, and pre-screened by educators, counselors and their peers. After intensive deadlines, non-stop phone calls and … [Read more...]

Dear MEChA de Portland State University, Thank you again for the invitation to keynote at your 2010 Edúcate Conference. It was an extreme pleasure, honor and privilege to speak before 350+ Chicana/o and Latina/o motivated high school students, from Hillsboro to Hood River and south to Woodburn. The well-organized conference and attendance was incredible and the workshop feedback I received was all positive. I commend your chapter and the presenters for your passionate efforts, self-less service to others, and desire to see all students pursue their dreams. The conference in and of itself is symbolic in that it opens the doors to bilingual students whom many for the first time are setting foot on the grounds of a university, the sons and daughters of some of the hardest working Oregonians. Bilingual talent that must be educated, developed and trained in leadership to advance Oregon. This is the kind of hard grunt work that is required, but necessary, and your chapters' leadership … [Read more...]

Tomorrow morning, I will be speaking before hundreds of students of color, primarily Chicana/o and Latina/o students at Portland State University for the MEChA chapters' 2010 Edúcate Conference. The leadership invited me to keynote and will last 15 minutes. The intent of the day-long activities is to motivate, inspire and provide opportunities to the participating students. From the keynote to the workshop presenters and college/career fair, the conference is a reminder that MEChA stands for educational opportunities for all and strives to provide minority communities access to the university. The audience will primarily be a mix of first-generation students with majority attending public schools in the greater Portland-metro area, but I understand some will be coming from a distance. I'm not going to talk numbers and how many Latina/o students in particular drop-out. These we know. But I will have an awesome responsibility, one that I take very seriously. I've been asked to … [Read more...]

Face it. Recruiting anyone for a position is an intensive process. You must develop and tailor the job description. Form a search committee to interview the candidates. Advertise the posting. Boil 300 resumes down to a manageable 10 that you will phone interview. Down to the top 5 candidates to invite to interview. Only to find out you may be left with 3, because 2 candidates are no longer interested and have accepted job offers elsewhere. On top of that, those candidates went in and failed to prepare for the interview, or not. In the end, you may not have any candidates who are bilingual. Some organizations may try to deploy their 2-3 staff on hand that are bilingual to share the position with their colleagues and close friends. For some employers this might work. Deploying your existing bilingual staff, depending on the size of their network and the time they have been allocated to the task, may be one of the smartest and most cost-effective choices available to some … [Read more...]

“Last year, over 100 million dollars for scholarship monies went unclaimed. The problem is students don’t apply. Let’s see if we can change that,” stated Ochoa. This cloudy morning in a packed room at the Linfield College School of Nursing, over fifty bilingual students where over ninety-five percent were bilingual in Spanish, one spoke Mixteco and one spoke Portuguese, attended the Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber (HMCC) sponsored “Path to Scholarships” workshop. The hands on workshop was presented by co-author of Path to Scholarships College Edition, and scholarship consultant, Gerardo Ochoa. He is also the Associate Director of Financial Aid at the Linfield College Portland campus. The Latino students came from as far as Hood River and Independence, Oregon. Many are athletes, many leaders in their student government, one ASB President in attendance and many working part-time. At least seventy-five percent will be the first to go to college in their family. They all … [Read more...]

Happy 2010 from Edith and I, and hoping you and your familias had a great Christmas and holiday. I wanted to take a few moments to thank a few individuals that kept us going in 2009, that as a result of their mentorship, professional friendship, encouragement (online and offline, some don’t know it or realize it), we inched closer towards this entrepreneurial venture, we call BilingualHire. We're eternally grateful. First. You. La Familia, friends, readers and subscribers to our blog, e-Newsletter, and fans in our Facebook community, who continuously provide feedback, and are our eyes and ears in communities throughout. To some of the subject matter experts on Twitter that are gracious upon imagination. A special, special gracias to Jason Hitzert, Chris Brogan, Gary Vaynerchuk, Chris Sacca, Dana Willhoit, and Robert Scoble for their business strategy, creative and social media & new media communication insight that, as a result, have improved our operation and interestingly, … [Read more...]